Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Bakeneko
by NegaTroll
Summary: Usagi Tsukino is a teenager whose life changes forever the day she meets a magical black cat. But her destiny takes a slight detour when she discovers she is extraordinary in more ways than one. This is a retelling of the Dark Kingdom arc of the Sailor Moon manga with anime elements...and a little something extra.


**Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Bakeneko**

_Chapter One: Crybaby Usagi's Magnificent Transformation_

An alarm clock rang to wake Usagi Tsukino but she remained immobile. The warmth of her blanket shielded her from the noise as much as her cocoon of sleep. Her mind was an island of dreams encased by a bubble of serene slumber.

Another alarm of the maternal sort burst her bubble and let the cool morning air rush in to wake her.

"Usagi!" her mother called from the floor below her. "It's after 8'oclock!"

Usagi mumbled in resistance, cracking the seals of her closed lips and eyes. She was as tired as she had been when she had first fallen asleep, and as she peeled away both the layers of her fantasies and the covers on her bed, her eyes flew open at the sight of the alarm clock that she had not heard.

It was long past quarter after eight!

With a scream and a start she bolted out of the bed and nearly out of her pink pajamas. Like a rabbit, she hopped over to her drawers in a scurry. Her feet and hands flailed in a lack of coordination, but she fished out her necessary undergarments in a flurry of successive arm movements that were more speedy than sublime. She soon groaned as she saw her school uniform, which had been cast onto the floor on the opposite side of the room. Usagi scrambled over to the shirt and skirt which sported wrinkles galore. She scooped up both items of clothing, then lifted each item in front her nose and inhaled. Satisfied, she crossed the room to pick up the underwear, then sprinted out of her room and down the hall into the bathroom as quickly she could. After an awkward attempt to both wash herself and brush her teeth at the same time, she dispensed with the latter task for the moment. She threw on her clothes and stood in front of the sink, catching her own reflection in the mirror above.

Her golden hair had been once carefully swept up in twin buns from which two long pigtails swung. The general style remained, but stray strands of hair stood out from the buns, her bangs, and the back of her head. To her blue, glazed eyes, the condition of her hair was presentable enough for school, but she only lent her sight to her reflection for a split-second. Instead, she picked up her toothbrush in her right hand and squeezed the tube of toothpaste in her left hand in a hope that placing both items in proximity would ensure the toothpaste would land on the bristles.

The toothpaste uncooperatively snaked out of the tube and into the air, only to fall onto the sink below.

"No!" Usagi shouted. She dropped the toothpaste tube and frantically scooped up the spilled toothpaste with her toothbrush. She stuffed her toothbrush in her mouth and seconds later ran out of the bathroom and down the stars fully clothed. She ran past her purple-haired mother, Ikuko, who held a newspaper in her hands.

"Mom, why didn't you get me up earlier?" Usagi asked as she whisked the bristles on her teeth.

"I called you a three times, and you answered me three times," her mother answered, not taking her eyes off the paper. "It's not my fault you were lazing around like a cat."

"I don't remember answering!" Usagi ran into the first-floor powder room and spat out the mixture of toothpaste and saliva she had stored in her mouth then wiped her mouth with her sleeve. She sprinted past her mother again and reached the front door to the house.

"Usagi," her mother called, "there's something else you haven't remembered."

Usagi poked her head back in the kitchen. Her mother dangled a pink lunch bag in her hand. Usagi's face flattened with shame, and she sheepishly took the bag from her mother.

"Goodbye, mom." Usagi ran out the door and threw it behind her, not even caring that it had not closed. She faintly heard her mother close the door, but another noise soon caught the girl's attention. As soon as she reached the corner of the next block, her body froze once she heard three words.

"Get the cat!" cried a boy's voice.

More loud voices of children joined his, and they all sounded as if they were standing right in front of her. Quickly, Usagi looked left and right, but her vision did not verify what her ears had told her. Instead, she started her jog again and towards the school, but as she ran, the voices grew louder, almost as if they were in her head. She covered her ears and the voices faded.

They were real.

Usagi let her arms fall and ran in the direction of the deafening children's cries until she reached a parking lot. Three children, none older than five years old, were bent over a lumpy, black object on the ground.

Usagi did not need to come any closer to know the black ball of fur they surrounded was a cat.

"Hey, you kids!" Usagi ordered. "Stop that this instant!"

At the sound of her voice, the three children fled with fast-moving feet. Usagi ran over to the housecat, which was not an _it_, but a _she_. She was a dark kitten on the cusp of adulthood that had her limbs splayed. Her eyes were closed in fear; she was breathing but silent. Usagi picked her up, firmly but gently, and the cat opened her eyes. Usagi was stunned that the cat's eyes were the same color as her own, and the cat took a long look at the girl who had saved her.

"You are such a cute kitty," Usagi said. "I'd take you home and cuddle you, but I'm not allowed to have pets."

Usagi brought the cat's head to her own face. Her lips brushed against a spongy surface that was not fur. Immediately, Usagi recoiled, then noticed the spot she had tried to kiss was covered by cross-crossing adhesive bandages. Usagi did not smell any blood and at once she recognized that the bandages were for spectacle, not recovery.

"Did those boys put this bandage on you?" she asked the cat. "Let me take it off!"

Cradling the cat with her left hand, she pressed her right forefinger and thumb together and tried to work her digits between the cat's fur and the bandage. After a few seconds, she grabbed the end of one bandage and slowly peeled it away from the cat's fur. The other bandage quickly loosened as well and the two bandages flew off the cat and onto the ground. In the spot where the bandages had been was a golden, crescent moon symbol with its cusps pointed toward the sky.

No sooner than Usagi gasped at the sight did the black cat leap onto her head and then onto a nearby car. Usagi and the cat exchanged a gaze, and an urgent dread flushed Usagi's forehead with sweat. The morning bells of her school sounded and ended the showdown between Usagi and the cat. Usagi dashed away from the cat and toward her school. She could feel the cat stare at her the entire time and could almost hear the cat breathe, but she did not care. Her heartbeat drowned out the external sounds as she forced herself to run faster than humanly possible. Time seemed to slow down as each bell became louder and slower, but the world around her felt like a blur. She pumped her arms and legs and she passed the wall on which the plaque labeling the school rested. She entered the building and ran down the halls toward her classroom.

Miss Sakurada stood at its open door as a sentry.

"Wait!" Usagi yelled.

The command of the schoolgirl caused Miss Sakurada to turn and glare at Usagi. Miss Sakurada promptly shut the door with a sonorous slam. Usagi Tsukino was late again.

* * *

Precious minutes passed after Usagi arrived in typical, tardy fashion at Juuban Municipal Junior High School, and she stood outside of the door of her homeroom. Both of her arms braced a bucket of water over her head, and her own body added to the water as sweat tricked from her forehead. She could barely hear the lecture over the sloshing of the water. The noise seemed louder than usual and she wondered if she had begun to get sick.

_The nerve of that teacher,_ Usagi thought. _ She's forcing a fragile flower like me to hold this heavy pail of water over my head._

She looked down at her pink lunch bag that was decorated with drawings of bunny heads. It called to her with the smell of food. Her stomach grumbled and her posture swayed.

_I'm so hungry and so weak, but I can't eat my lunch because I can't reach it._

A hand that was not hers lifted the bag from her side. Another hand that was not hers patted Usagi's sweaty forehead with a cloth. Both hands belonged to a blue-haired student with a short haircut.

"Thank you," Usagi said. "I'm Usagi Tsukino."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tsukino," the student replied with a bow. "My name is Ami Mizuno."

"You're that genius girl who's at the top of the exams! Haruda's always talking about how we're not as good as you."

"Excuse me, but who is Haruda?"

"Miss Sakurada. Her first name is Haruna and she is sure hard on us."

The door next to Usagi opened and the red-haired instructor occupied the open space. She pinched a sheet of paper in her left hand and pressed her right knuckle into her hip.

"With an attitude like that," Miss Sakurada said, "it's no wonder your test scores are so dismal!"

"Do you have super-hearing or something?" Usagi asked.

"Mizuno," Miss Sakurada said to Ami, ignoring Usagi, "nothing good will come of you if you stick around her." Ami took the dismissal to heart and started walking toward her own classroom. "By the way, Tsukino, here's your test score."

Miss Sakurada lifted the piece of paper, her blood red fingernails resembling claws. Usagi's eyes were drawn toward the two large numbers in red.

"A thirty!" Usagi yelled. In shock, she let go of the pail on her head and it tumbled forward. Some of its contents dripped on Usagi, but the suit, hair and body of Miss Sakurada were drenched. Miraculously, the test paper itself remained dry, and it shook upon the roar of Miss Sakurada.

"_TSUKINO!_"

* * *

The sun heated the April air enough to cause the long-sleeved uniforms of the junior high school students to stink with sweat. Still they went outside for lunch, and Usagi congregated with her usual group. She sat on a bench next to Naru, her best friend, while Umino stood in front of the two. Usagi greedily gulped the rice balls out of her bag while Naru looked at the test paper.

"You got a thirty?" Naru asked.

"I'm scared to go home to face my mom," Usagi said.

"I'm disappointed too," Umino butted in. He raised the paper with the red digits on it like a badge of shame. "I only got a ninety-five. If I had studied harder I could have gotten a perfect score."

"You're ridiculous," Naru said.

"Say, have you heard about the bungling burglars Sailor V caught?"

"Of course, I heard about it."

"What's a Sailor V?" Usagi asked.

"She's a masked superhero who fights crime by moonlight," Umino explained. "Like an urban vigilante, she's only spotted in the shadows. She's probably a secret agent working for the government."

"Some secret if she's on the front page of every paper," Naru commented, "I think it's just a publicity stunt. If she did something about that mysterious cat burglar in our neighborhood I'd change my mind."

Usagi hung her head. Naru was not normally this cynical, but the matter of the cat-burglar had been on both their minds. A thief who broke open jewelry cases only to leave the treasure behind was local news, and more visceral than any masked would-be savior.

"At least your family's store hasn't been hit yet," Usagi said. "Has your business improved?"

"Nope," Naru answered, "In fact, my mom started a big sale yesterday. This rash of robberies has made her start to act funny. Maybe you can come with me after school?" Usagi started to smile.

"Sure, I want to see if there are any pearls or diamonds left!"

"Plenty!"

The two girls were gleeful and quickly ran away from Umino, planning an imaginary shopping spree. The ghost of Usagi's test was pushed aside, and for once two ordinary girls were doing ordinary things.

* * *

The day passed more quickly than Usagi would have liked and school was over in the blink of an eye. While Naru's invitation lifted her spirits, the inevitable confrontation with her mother also neared. As a consequence Usagi and Naru walked slowly to Osa-P Jewelry with their black cases for schoolwork in hand. The glass doors opened with a welcome and the sight before the two girls' eyes caused their hearts to skip. Dozens - if not hundreds - of people crammed into the storefront. Ms. Osaka stood in the middle of the crowd with a megaphone, her voice barely distinguishable from the din of delighted customers.

"I thought you said business wasn't doing well," Usagi said loud enough to be heard over the crowd noise.

"Must be a full moon tonight," Naru half-joked. The humor escaped Usagi and she flashed back to the radiant, waxing gibbous of last night.

"Everything is 90% off!" Ms. Osaka shouted into the megaphone, snapping Usagi back to the present. "I'm practically giving this away!"

"Mama!" Naru called.

Ms. Osaka turned around, and instantly Usagi was taken aback. She wore an expression of simultaneous hunger and health, and in fact she even looked a little younger than she had been these past few weeks. The two schoolgirls pushed their way past the mob to Ms. Osaka.

"Oh, my dear Naru!" Ms. Osaka shouted, lowering the megaphone. "You're back from school so soon, and you've brought a friend too!"

Naru and Usagi smiled sheepishly at the odd greeting. Ms. Osaka had known Usagi for years, and she was always ecstatic to see Naru when she came back from school. Today there was no hug, no kiss, no tactile display of affection. In fact, despite the woman's mannerisms of excitement, she seemed to be like a moving statue, not breathing.

Dead.

Ms. Osaka glided through the crowd and led Naru and Usagi to the counter. Ms. Osaka stood behind it and unlocked the glass case. She pulled out a black box and opened it to reveal a glittering ring.

"I have a special discount for all my dear daughter's friends," Ms. Osaka _continued_ in her rehearsed speech. "Young lady, I know you like diamonds so why not purchase this diamond ring?"

"How much is it?" Usagi asked.

"Normally it goes for five hundred thousand yen, but for you, I'll let you have it for thirty thousand yen."

"_Thirty thousand yen!_" another customer, a corpulent middle-aged woman cried. Soon, Naru and Usagi were pushed to the floor by a pink juggernaut covered in jewelry and other women clamored and gathered at the counter. Usagi and Naru climbed through the crowd on the floor, then stood up once they had cleared the sea of feet. They walked toward the door, causing the sliding portal to open.

"Don't worry, Usagi. I'm sure there's something you can buy," Naru said. Usagi could hear the words Naru wasn't saying. _See what I mean? She's lost her mind._

"Yeah, but I don't have any money, and with a score I got today I might not be let back in." Usagi's shoulders drooped and she leaned sideways like a crooked lampshade. "Naru, thanks for letting me look around."

"You're welcome." Again, the unsaid resonated in Usagi's ears. _Please don't go_.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Naru."

"Goodye, Usagi." Naru rested a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Be strong."

Usagi slowly waked away, letting the sliding doors close behind her. She took a few steps then stopped, and reached into her black case. She pulled out the test with a quivering hand the graded exam vibrated violently. It would be so easy to throw this piece of paper away. After all, who would know? She started to walk again, intent on destroying the evidence of her performance.

Before she could crumple her paper, she felt herself being swept off her feet, and the moment of weightlessness preceded a hard smack onto a concrete surface. She fell front first, her arms splayed and her entire body stinging from the impact. Confusion soon followed her spill; she was clumsy but she knew this section of sidewalk as well as her own face, and it was as even as it had been when it was first poured. She shifted herself into a sitting position and looked behind her. A black lump rested on the sidewalk right behind her.

"Another cat?" she asked herself aloud.

She crawled over to the cat and saw the familiar crescent mark or it forehead, then gasped and shuddered in recognition. This was the same cat from earlier this morning.

Then a whistle brought her focus away from the cat and to the opposite direction. A young man had made the sound. He was tall, slim, and raven-haired. He wore a green blazer, a black turtleneck, and a pair of large sunglasses that almost resembled a visor. He placed one of his feet on the paper she had let go, then bent over and picked it up. He held it up in front of him as he walked.

"A 30?" the dark-haired teenager remarked. "No wonder you tripped over your own two feet."

"I did not," Usagi protested. She pointed to the black cat on the sidewalk. "It was that cat. She must have followed me from this morning."

"Oh, really?" He gave Usagi an irritating smirk. "Maybe it's a bakeneko."

"She's not a bakeneko!" Usagi stood up and the youth bowed down.

"You're baka." He put his hand on his chin. "That's it! Baka-Neko." He chuckled at the nickname, which turned Usagi red with anger. "Here's your paper back, Baka-Neko." He held the paper, score forward in Usagi's face. She angrily snatched it. "Next time study harder. Smell ya later."

He walked past her, towards Osa-P Jewelry, and Usagi shook her head. That guy acted weird, and smelled weird, too. Her head drooped as her feet began to take her on her slow walk home. A few meters ahead was the Crown Game Center. The sounds of the video games inside the arcade called her, but she walked past the entrance and instead looked at the poster. It was of the figure Umino described earlier, Sailor V. Here she was seen in an illustration with loose blond hair and a red bow. She sported a sailor suit similar to Usagi's own uniform, and Sailor V smiled without ceasing. Whether she was fictional or real, she looked happier than Usagi felt at the moment.

_Oh, Sailor V,_ she thought. _I wish I could be like you. You don't have to worry about tests and overbearing mothers._

From the entrance of the arcade peeked a light-haired young man with an apron draped over him. He had a youthful face of a high school student, but she knew he was in college.

"Usagi!" he called. "I didn't know you were a fan of the new Sailor V game."

She never remembered his name, but he always looked out for her, like a big brother. In her mind, she called him her "play cousin." Unlike other game centers, she felt at home here, as he always went the extra mile to make her feel welcome.

"To be honest," Usagi admitted. "I never played it before."

"Why not come in and give it a try? There's a lull before the night crowd comes in."

The man disappeared into the arcade Usagi followed him. Her feet were on autopilot, as the noises of the arcade put her into a trance. The sound effects and various background chiptunes made her feel as if she had stepped into in paradise.

She soon found herself in front of the Sailor V game. The console was clean and unworn. Her play cousin pulled the stool from the console. She sat on it, and her thighs started to slide off it. She slipped and he caught her before she could tumble. She held onto him for dear life. His warm touch felt nice. He smelled even nicer.

"Oops," he said innocently. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She rested her butt on the chair and regained her balance, then let go of the young man. She wished the chair she had backs on them, but soon her mind was occupied solely by the screen in front of her.

At first, the game seemed easy enough. It was a side-scroller beat'em up where the player controlled Sailor V. Usagi made her digital avatar smack and kick digital burglars. She avoided most of her attacks and approached the end of the stage with nearly a full life meter.

Then came the boss. It was a monster, not a human being. It was twice as big as Sailor V. Usagi shot bullets at it from across the screen, but the bullets passed through it.

"You can't use regular attacks to beat the boss," her play cousin said. "You need to use a special technique. Turn the stick in a quarter circle backwards then hit the fire button."

Usagi pressed the stick down, then down to the left diagonally, then back and then fired, but only a regular pellet shot came out.

"No, not like that," he added. "One smooth motion."

It took Usagi four attempts to get to successfully perform the move, and after each attempt she was hit by the boss. At last she entered the correct input and the Sailor V sprite performed a new animation.

"Sailor V Kick!" the digitized voice stated.

Sailor V leapt into the air and flew across the screen with her foot extended, and missed the monster by a mile. Her character was frozen in place and the monster walked over to Sailor V and poked her. Sailor V collapsed and the score of 6850 flashed in the corner of the screen.

"It's okay," the man said. "That's not bad for a first-timer..."

His voice trailed off. Both he and Usagi quickly turned around, hearing something that shouldn't have been heard over the cacophonous arcade consoles. The looked down and a black cat was on the floor behind the two of them. The cat's crescent moon symbol glistened as she stared at Usagi.

"You!" Usagi cried. The light-haired man had to catch Usagi from falling off the chair. He bent over to the cat then rubbed it under the chin. The cat purred in adulation.

"She's such a sweet kitty," he said to Usagi. "Don't tell me you're afraid of cats?"

"No, but I'm not used to them _following_ me."

"Maybe she just looking for a good home."

The word "home" sounded like a dinner bell to Usagi's ears. She would be in more trouble if she didn't get back to her house soon.

"Yeah, home," Usagi said in a moment of half-awareness. "I have to get going. Thanks for letting me play the new game."

"Any time." Usagi ran out of the down the aisles of machines and out of the Crown Game Center. Her play cousin watched and bent his left elbow onto his back, rubbing the holes her nails had left in his shirt.

* * *

Usagi let the sunset bathe her in a final shower of light as she stood in front of her house. The cat was nowhere to be found, and fear seized her thoughts. Tonight was different for some reason, and inexplicably horror turned to hope. Perhaps her mother wouldn't kill her tonight. Usagi put her key in the door and opened it.

"Usagi!" Ikuko called. She emerged from the kitchen with a spatula in her hand.

"Sorry, I'm late," Usagi said, taking off her shoes at the doorstop.

"I expected you to be late. I ran into Umino earlier today. He told me you were spending the afternoon with Naru."

"He did, did he?" Usagi wanted nothing more than to strangle Umino.

"He also told me about the test today and how he got a ninety-five." Ikuko bent over. "So come on, tell me how you did."

Steeling herself for the worst, Usagi reached into her bag and handed the test to Ikuko, blank side up. Ikuko flipped the paper around.

"A thirty..." Ikuko read, then breathed in heavily. Usagi was waiting for the assault on either her ears or her body, but it never came. Instead, Ikuko made a genuinely calm face. "It's time for a new approach. You're grounded tonight."

"You mean, you're not kicking me out of the house?" Usagi asked in disbelief.

"No, you must stay in your room and study, but you are not allowed out until further notice. No video games. No phone calls."

"Thank you, Mom!" Usagi hugged her mother, then hopped up the stairs towards her room. She passed by Shingo, her younger brother,

"You got off easy, you silly rabbit!" Shingo yelled.

"Hey, I'm your big sister," Usagi protested.

"You're a big pain in the butt." He kicked her in her posterior. He ran into his room and she followed him, preparing to return the gesture.

"Sailor V Kick!" Usagi yelled, as she thrust her foot forward. Shingo slammed the door shut in the nick of time and her foot smacked into the door.

"To your room, Usagi!" Ikuko called from downstairs. "NOW!"

Usagi obeyed the order and entered her room, closing the door behind her. Exhaustion overtook her and she collapsed on the bed, not bothering to climb underneath the covers. She could hardly believe it, but she had escaped maternal wrath. She would study harder next time, but right now she slipped towards sleep, her eyes mesmerized by the moving curtains of her open window. Soon she was only watching them move in her dreams.

* * *

Osa-P Jewelry was still brimming with customers after the sun had set. Under the artificial light they were laughing and wearing the jewelry they had bought and still wanting more. The form of Ms. Osaka stared at them all from behind the counter and began to cackle.

One of the customers also raised her own voice from a giggle to a chuckle. She held up a ring with an opal stone in it and slipped it on her hand. She laughed until she felt a sharp pain in the finger inside of the ring. The pain was quickly replaced by weakness and cold smothering her from head to toe.

"I feel faint," a customer stated, and she dropped the floor and fell unconscious.

One by one the women in the store joined her, some crying out in pain where the jewelry pressed into their skin. Some tried to run for the exit and others tried to take the necklaces, bracelets, and brooches off. Those that ran made it a step or two before falling, and those who struggled against the jewel chains fought in vain and the bands and gems pressed deeper into their bodies. Soon the collapsed bodies formed a second floor they were so numerous, and only Naru remained standing amidst the human flood. The lights shut off, and the store was now pitch black except for the slices of moonlight and streetlight, one of which illuminated Ms. Osaka.

"Mama!" Naru asked. "What's going on?"

Ms. Osaka turned around with a wicked grin, and her face was now true, pure evil. She sneered and Naru noticed her mother's teeth seemed to be more pointed than normal. Neither of them noticed that a figure with an intent to steal slipped into the open window above and watched the scene unfold.

* * *

Usagi was fully unconscious as the moonlight poured into her room. A sudden slam roused her. She heard someone walk into her room, and her once opened windows were now closed. She separated her eyelids.

The black cat from before stared her in the face.

Usagi screamed and ducked behind the edge of the bed.

"Please!" she begged. "Go away."

"I cannot go away," the cat replied in human speech.

"The cat with the bald spot just talked!"

"How rude! It's not a bald spot." Luna bowed her head. "My name is Luna and I've been looking for you, Usagi."

"No." Usagi buried her face into the bedspread.

"Yes. Thank you for taking the bandage off my head earlier. I couldn't think straight or talk as long as my mark was covered. Now that it's off, I know you're the one I've been searching for."

"If I go back to sleep I might wake up in the real world," she mumbled.

"This _is_ the real world." Luna poked Usagi with her paw. "Take a look at this."

Luna leapt into the air and performed a somersault, causing a brooch to appear. The golden disk had four circles on it and landed in front of Usagi. Usagi lifted her head and her face lit up like a lightbulb.

"This is for me?" Usagi asked as she grabbed the brooch.

"Yes, but you have to listen to me." Usagi got up and danced around with the brooch, then stopped as she caught her reflection in the mirror. She pinned the brooch to her bow. Her glee spilled over Luna's words. "There are strange crimes that are happening all over Tokyo - burglaries, kidnappings, people being found drained of their blood. The police can't stop them."

Usagi continued to admire her reflection. Luna bounded from the bed to her dresser to interrupt her bliss.

"You're not listening!" Luna shouted. "This is important!" Usagi faced Luna. "You have been chosen as a Guardian. Your mission is to find the other Guardians, stop the enemy, and locate the Princess."

"Wow," Usagi answered flippantly. "How am I supposed to do all that?"

"Say 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up!'"

"Right!" She lifted her arm into the air in an exaggerated gesture and opened her palm. "Moon Prism Power, _meow_." As soon as she had made the noise, a strange, indescribable sensation swallowed her.

"Usagi, this is no time for games," Luna warned, but her feline mouth fell as silent as Usagi now was. The dumbstruck girl watched her hand curl as purple fur covered the back of her hand and her pink nails turned ivory white. She felt both heat and nausea spread through her body.

The fur was also spreading on the surface of her body, crawling from her wrist and up her arm, toward her chest. She jumped with fear and aversion of the itching that accompanied the rapid hair growth, but the carpet under her feet felt strange. Usagi looked down and not only was she standing on the front parts of her feet, but her socks were torn. Her toenails had also been replaced by claws and her feet resembled cat paws, complete with the extra padding on the soles.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked. She turned to Luna, who stared at the transforming Usagi with surprise. Unknown to Usagi, her face had already begun to contort into a more feline shape, with her mouth and nose protruding into a slight snout. As she opened her mouth, she felt her teeth both sharpen and separate.

"You did this to me!" Usagi accused.

"I have nothing to do with this," Luna protested. The girl who was supposed to be Sailor Moon was now changing into something else before her own eyes. "It could be the magic of the enemy. Say 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up!'"

"Mooon..." Usagi made an attempt to speak, but fear and pain caused her to fail. Her voice degenerated into a series of "mews" and "nyas" and assorted screams and grunts that no longer even approximated human speech. Her body continued to change, and Usagi placed her hands on the bed as a sharp pain tore at her abdomen. Her eyes were steady on her hands. Despite every digit being covered completely with fur and the area that was once the palm of her hand now sporting thick sweat pads, her hands still retained their general shape. She could only hope this meant whatever transformation that was occurring was almost over.

Then she felt a stabbing in her lower back, which was now covered with as much fur as the rest of her body. With repeated, agonizing jabs a new growth began to jut out from the section, threatening to break the stretching skin. Her stomach muscles throbbed with even more twinges and as the lump lengthened and pushed the fur-caked skin even more. With dread, she realized what was happening to her.

She was growing a tail.

Her rump was sore, the muscles inside her body rearranging themselves for the new limb, but it was dwarfed by the combined pain of the eruption and the unused abdominal muscles that sprung to life. The pain was so strong she did not notice her ears had now grown pointed and moved upward slightly.

As sudden as the transformation had started, the pain shut off as if someone had flicked a switch. Usagi tried to stand up, but instantly she dropped to all fours. That position still felt odd, so crawled over to her dresser and used the corner of it to lift herself into an upright position. She stood in front of the mirror and did not realize at first that the purple-furred werecat stating back at her was herself.

"Usagi," Ikuko called, "come down here."

"Mom?" Usagi answered. "Oh, I can still talk." A quick gasp punctuated her words. "She can't see me like this!"

"I can hear you from here. Come down so we can chat."

Usagi obediently walked over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Luna demanded more than asked.

"Downstairs," Usagi answered. She grabbed the doorknob and turned it. She walked down the steps and turned the corner to enter the living room. Luna trailed the once-human girl's every step.

Both Luna and Usagi gasped. Ikuko was now half-cat, half human, and stood on her hind legs. Shingo and her glass-wearing father, Kenji, sat side-by-side on the couch leaning slightly forward, but their features were as feline as Usagi's.

"Werecats!" Luna screamed in disbelief, unable to trust her eyes or her nose. Immediately, Shingo and Kenji leaped behind the couch.

"You can talk!" Shingo shouted at Luna.

"A talking cat!" Kenji yelled.

"I think we both owe each other and explanation," Ikuko said. "But first things first. Here's your dinner."

Ikuko set a bowl full of milk on the floor in front of Usagi, then one in front of Keiji, and another in front of Shingo. Usagi's father lowered his head and stuck his face into the bowl.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Usagi asked.

"Just do whatever comes naturally," her mother answered.

Usagi sat down on her haunches, leaning forward as to not cause undue stress on her tail. She bent her head into the bowl and began to lap the milk with her tongue for a few seconds. Frustration at the slow process prompted her to pick up the bowl and turn it up to her head.

"No! No!" Ikuko scolded. Usagi put the bowl down at once. "Quit trying to be greedy! Your mouth's not shaped the same as a human's now."

"But Shingo's doing it!" Usagi whined.

All of the eyes on the room fell on Shingo, who had mimicked Usagi's movements and lifted the bowl and turned it towards his mouth. The milk went inside his maw with nary a drop spilt.

"Shingo," Ikuko called, "stop it!"

The catboy lowered the bowl and began to lick it in the same way as his father.

"Mom," Usagi asked, "what happened to us? Was there an explosion that mutated us? Did nuclear war beak out? Did we die?"

"Usagi," Ikuko explained, "this is who we - me, you, your father, and your brother - are. We are cat people."

"Legendary Werecats..." Luna remarked.

"How did this happen?" Usagi asked.

"I was born a cat person, just like my mother and father," Ikuko answered. "You got it from me."

"I don't remember you ever having whiskers."

"That's because I hid it from you. Did you ever wonder why I always kicked out you out of the house whenever you got a bad grade? All those times were full moons, just like tonight."

"You should have told me I was a freak!"

"We didn't know if you were like me," Ikuko explained, "and since you didn't turn when you were six, we assumed you were a normal human girl."

"We thought it would have been best to raise you like a normal girl," Kenji added. "There was no reason you had to know until now."

"And what about Shingo?" Usagi asked.

"He turned when he was six, like clockwork."

"You've been a catboy that long?" Usagi asked her brother. She cradled her head in her hands. "I can't believe it! My family are cats. I'm a cat. Here I just wanted to be special like Sailor V."

"She's going to start crying," Shingo remarked. "Crybaby Kitty."

"You'll feel better once you drink your milk," Ikuko added. "Lap it up and you'll be done in no time!"

"Usagi," Keiji said, "the first time is always the worst. Your body's not used to it."

"First time?" Usagi protested. "This isn't supposed to be happening at all! I'm just a normal girl."

"You still are, dear. It's not a curse. In six months you're going to look back on this night and laugh."

"So tell me about your cat-friend," Ikuko said.

"I found her earlier today." Usagi lowered her head and lapped her milk between sentences. "I thought it was weird how this cat was following me and started to talk to me. I guess I speak 'cat' now."

"I've seen your latest exams," Shingo teased. "How do you think you can speak another language?"

"Huh?"

"This is the first time I've seen a talking cat," Ikuko said. "Maybe she has more to say herself."

"I've said too much," Luna replied, turning her nose into the air.

"Talking cat?" Usagi asked. "This isn't a werecat super power? We can't talk to cats?"

"Not our clan," her mother answered.

"Hmph," Luna butted in. "Where did you get that idea that I talk to monsters?"

"Monsters!" Usagi yelled.

"You heard me."

"How rude." Usagi lifted the bowl of milk, albeit not as highly as she lifted it previously, and bent her head into it. "I'm not going to let you have a drop of this delicious milk just for that."

Luna responded with a hard, wide swing that that grazed the cold, soft, wet skin of Usagi's nose. She shrieked and tears quickly welled in her eyes, but despite the sting, she set the bowl down gently on the floor. Her sobs mixed with mews and Luna ran up the stairs. Usagi swiftly followed with the alacrity befitting her smaller, more feline companion.

"Usagi!" Ikuko called.

"She's such a crybaby," Shingo whispered.

"Hush, Shingo!" Kenji replied. "She can hear you now."

Unknown to them, Usagi did not care about their voices or their conversation, and she slammed the door to her room. Luna stood on her bed with a determined look on her face.

"Why did you do that?" Usagi asked.

"Because I need you to finish what we were going to start," Luna answered. "Repeat after me. 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up!'"

"I don't want to."

"What if I said it would turn you into a hero, like Sailor V?"

"That would be wonderful!" Usagi shouted. "But Sailor v is a human."

"Maybe doing this will turn you back into a human, too."

"You're right!" Usagi lifted her right hand into the air. "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

A flash of light engulfed her. As it dissipated she could feel yet another change, although this transformation was confined to her clothes. Her school uniform had disappeared, leaving a remarkably similar uniform in place. Instead of a shirt, she wore a leotard, and her skirt shortened. Her tail peeked out from under her back bow, and her head was adorned with white barrettes and two circular, red clips.

"What's happening to me?" Usagi asked. "Did I turn back to normal?"

Luna's wordless gaze led Usagi to look into the mirror, and Usagi let out a mew of excitement. She looked at her legs, which were now covered in boots. Despite the fact that her feet were still paws, the inside of the boots themselves had been shaped to accommodate her feline feet and extended ankles.

"I look like Puss in Boots," she complained. "You said I would be like _Sailor V_."

"I don't understand," Luna pondered aloud. "It _should_ have worked."

_Help me! Mama's trying to kill me!_

The words she heard were not her own thoughts or even the words of anyone in this block. She knew who had called out to her and she opened the window to her room.

_Naru? _Usagi thought. _ I could hear her as if she were standing in front of me. Even now my hearing shouldn't be that good. I have to help her!_

Acting on an instinct she never felt before, Usagi retreated to the other side of the room. Luna pounced on top of her head and held on for dear life. Usagi took a running start and sprang out of the window. She yelled as she fell, wondering what possessed her to take such an act. Her body automatically turned so her feet and hands were in front of her when she hit the ground. On impact, her front arms and torso lengthened slightly, and she ran on all fours. Naru needed her, and even in this waking nightmare, her friend needed help.

* * *

The woman in the form of Ms. Osaka wrapped her hands around Naru's neck. The grip was tight enough to pin the schoolgirl, but not tight enough to prevent her from breathing.

"Mama," Naru called plaintively, "snap out of it."

"I'm not your mother," the impostor announced. "Your mother is dead. Her blood was the first to be drained for the use of our Great Ruler."

"What are you talking about?"

"You will find out very shortly."

Morga's skin started wrinkle and grey, and her dress turned black. A mark appeared on her forehead and her eye-sockets hollowed out, leaving the eyeballs to occupy a space too large for them. She opened her mouth and extended her fangs. Naru shrieked even louder but her cries stopped as Morga bent over and removed a hand from Naru's neck. Morga sank her teeth into Naru's throat. The hot blood gushed into Morga's mouth, and Naru was paralyzed.

Suddenly, Morga threw Naru to the ground and let her blood run all over the tile floor. Morga twisted her neck and looked at the female figure that caused the sliding glass doors to open. The interloper had a humanoid body and hair in pigtails, but she was on her hands and feet and had the face of a cat. Her eyes, though, were all too human.

"Who are you?" Morga asked.

"I am Sailor-Meoow." Usagi shook her head, but couldn't make herself talk. Her feral instincts overwhelmed her as Morga laughed.

"'Sailor Moon,' you said? I've heard of Sailor V, but I have never heard of Sailor Moon. No such thing exists."

Usagi hadn't said that. She was going to introduce herself as Sailor Rabbit, but now she found she could not even say either that or even her own name. Yet with the crescent moon earrings, it made sense. "Sailor Moon" was who she was and she lifted herself to her hind legs.

"I stand," Usagi - no, Sailor Moon - stated. "I stand for love and justice. I am the Pretty Guardian in a Sailor Suit. In the name of the Moon, I will punish you."

"The blood of a werecat like you is not needed," Morga remarked, then lifted her hand as a command. "Arise, bloodservants of our Great Ruler. As your master, I command you. Kill that cat."

The eyes of the bodies opened and the women stood up and charged at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon side-stepped the first woman, the pink-clad customer before, with ease. A second tried to grab her tail, but was met with an inadvertent kick. The blow gave her an idea as a third woman pounced toward her.

"Sailor Moon Kick!" Sailor Moon yelled as she thrust her body in the same manner as Sailor V, foot forward. She did not strike a blow, but the kick launched her out of the way of a third assailant, and she landed right next to a fourth woman with a broken bottle.

That woman slashed at sailor Moon and only grazed the fur on Sailor Moon's leg. Sailor Moon bounded back to a rare empty spot, then looked down at the stinging wound. She pressed her backed up against the pillar, painfully pinning her own tail. Blood was seeping out of her, not only skin, but onto the coat of hair she did not have until tonight. The crowd crept toward her in slow, terrifying steps.

"I'm bleeding," Sailor Moon stated, "I'm not dreaming."

"What are you doing?" Luna asked. "That creature is a Youma."

"Why do I have to suffer like this?" Sailor Moon let herself fall to the ground, freeing her tail. "I just found out I'm a monster, and I'm going to die a monster."

"Get up and fight!" Luna pointed her paw at Morga, who now floated over the encroaching crowd. "If you kill the Youma, everyone will turn back to normal."

Sailor Moon believed her and felt a second wind, but her energy faded when she realized what Luna meant by "everyone." Everyone but Sailor Moon. She was going to be a werecat forever.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" she cried.

Sailor Moon let out a series of long mews and wails, and her tears pelted the store floor. The circular adornments on her hair shook and the sound reverberated louder and louder as she cried. The crowd collapsed as if it were crushed by the noise. Morga fell to the ground and faltered.

"Sailor Moon," a male voice whispered, "you're not a monster, and crying won't help. Finish off the _real_ monster here."

"Huh, who said that?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Usagi," Luna whispered. "Take off your tiara and throw it at the Youma before she recovers."

Sailor Moon stood up and removed the golden headband on her head. The tiara turned into a spinning, luminescent discus.

"Moon Tiara Boomerang!" Sailor Moon yelled as the flung the weapon directly at Morga. Morga lifted her head in time to see the tiara approach, but her body was too weak to move out of the way. The glowing metal and the monster collided, and Morga dissolved into a pillar of sand after the impact. By the time the golden headband returned to Sailor Moon, the pile of sand scatted across the store.

"I didn't find the Silver Crystal, but I found something else a lot more interesting," said the soft voice that spoke previously.

She looked at the whisper which came in from the window. Up there stood at humanoid figure in a tuxedo, complete with a cape, white gloves, and a top hat. If not for his face he would have been an image of pure, male sophistication.

Then she looked at his face. Despite the eye mask he sported, his face wasn't human. It was that of a wolf. His silver fur shined in the moonlight. It was as attractive as his smell was repulsive, and more importantly, it was a scent she could have sworn she knew but couldn't place.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Tuxedo Okami. I hate to leave so soon, but the silent alarm must have been triggered. I hope to run into you again."

The creature in the tuxedo jumped from the window and onto the street - and out of her sight - without fear.

"Tuxedokami," Sailor Moon repeated, mashing the words together in a portmanteau. "For a wolf, he sure is dreamy."

"Usagi!" Luna called from an opening across the room. "Down here!"

Luna disappeared behind the opening. Sailor Moon followed Luna down the stairwell and into the basement. Ms. Osaka rested on the floot, and a necklace wrapped itself underneath the woman's chin. Sailor Moon's senses instantly verified this was actually Naru's mother.

"Ms. Osaka," Sailor Moon called. She removed the jewelry from her throat. Blood tricked from two puncture wounds on the woman's neck. Despite her shallow breaths, she was alive.

"We have to help her!" Sailor Moon shouted. Suddenly a siren pieced the air, first faintly but encroaching with every second.

"In your condition," Luna warned, "you won't be able to help anyone once the police show up. Follow me!" Luna ran out of the shop and out the front door and ducked into a nearby alley. Reluctantly Sailor Moon bolted in the same path Luna had taken, leaving the stirring bodies on the floor. Little did she knew a pair of familiar eyes had seen her escape, her twin pig tails in the air and her actual tail following suit.

"Bakeneko..." Naru said weakly.

* * *

Two human-shaped figures occupied a lightless chamber. Both could see each other plainly in the dark, yet neither had any need to see each other to know they were there. The woman sat in front of a crystal ball, but the man knelt before her.

"Why has the flow of blood stopped, Jadeite?" the woman asked.

"Morga must have been killed," the man answered. "I apologize to Your Majesty."

"Make a stronger Youma. Use finer materials for your golems if you must. Until we find the Legendary Silver Crystal, the blood of humans is all we have to survive on."

Jadeite slipped the tip of his tongue between his upper and lower teeth and felt the point of his lengthening canines.

He was already getting hungry.

* * *

The fully moon had shrouded itself with thick clouds, leaving the Tsukino house bathed in shadowless sleep. Sailor Moon and Luna scampered up the back porch and onto the roof.

Luna dropped onto the ledge next to open window to Usagi's room with ease, and Sailor Moon climbed into the window with less ease. Seeing the familiar covers, she collapsed onto her bed. Instantly, her sailor fuku disappeared, leaving her ordinary school uniform to cover her feline form. She was now Usagi again, and as her consciousness sank into the world of dreams, her arms and legs curled.

It had been a long day.


End file.
